Chapter twenty-nine
It was Saturday afternoon, in the local mall. The girls and I were searching for Christmas to send to New Jersey ahead of time, wrapped, and ready for Christmas eve for my relatives. The mall already has Christmas decorations up and holiday songs playing softly throughout the mall. Everyone started wearing heavier jackets, wool hats, caps, and gloves. There were even schedules for when Santa was coming.
“What do you think your aunt would like?” Asked, Laney, home for the holidays.
“Oh, anything, made out of the curtain material” I said sarcastically searching through a stream of clothes. Laney laughed silently to herself, hanging onto a rack.
“Made out of curtain material” Laney laughed, “You really don’t like her don’t you?”
“It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s just that every year since I was five I’ve told her politely, sweetie, in Polish, begged and cried for her not to pinch my cheeks and she continues to do it.”
Laney continued to laugh some more hanging onto the clothes rack. “Um, mom” Hailie said, I turned to her and saw the look of fear and concern on her face. She looked on the other side towards another store. When I looked her way, I realized it wasn’t the store she was looking at. The fake plants began to move, and with arms coming out of them, stretching out like a bird.
Laney, Hailie and I stood there with blank faces, “Go and find Whitney, we’ll go somewhere else” I whispered, hardly moving my mouth. Hailie and Laney casually walked away to find Whitney. It was me and the moving plant. I stood still as if it was holding a gun at me. I hardly moved, and I hardly breathed, we just starred at each other. My anger lustered in me and I began to move forward towards the moving plant.
It did not move in each once I grabbed the plant which was really a human with a camera. “Hey, watch it!” it exclaimed. It was a male maybe late thirty. I calmly placed my stuff down and cornered him against the wall.
“Where did you come from? Who else is here?” I demanded. He seemed hesitant about my tone of voice and he stuttered with each question.
“Uhh…T…T…M…Z….It’s just me, I swear.”
I took the camera from him and smashed it against the floor. It broke into a million pieces and shaddered glass began to spread the floor.
“Hey, you ought to pay for that!” He shouted.
“I’ll pay for it when you stop harassing my husband and my children….” I growled, trying to cool my temper. The man was more of a boy after I was done, and then I realized my daughters saw the whole thing. They stood arms dangling at their sides, and somewhat mouths open. It was a sense that could’ve escalated with anyone else.
After a few hours, the girls seemed to forget everything that happened as they began to search for good Christmas wrappings and ortiments for the tree. Every year they each buy a box of ortiments that they like. They searched the Dollar Store for hours picking up Christmas decorations of all sorts.
Hailie, begged to go down the mall to the malt shop, after a few begs I let her go timing exactly when she left.
“Mom, look at this color!” Whitney fused. She held a holographic bow that sparkled blue, green and red when you moved it, and another bow that was holographic pink.
“It’s beautiful sweetheart,” I said.
After a while I started to worry about Hailie, the stare case was right next to us from the store, and the malt shop was directly below us. Where could Hailie be? My heart began to race and my mind started to put together crazy scenarios of what could’ve happened to her. I gripped my purse strap a little tighter, afraid if I go look for her something might happen to Whitney and Laney. The sensible thing to do would be to text her or call, but my mind jump from that rush out and look for her.
I felt pretty foolish when I saw her standing right next to a stand, her back was arched back a bit and her chin practically touching her chest. It was as if she was looking at something at the bottom of the floor. What could see be looking at? Then I noticed she didn’t have a malt in her hand and she still had the five dollars in her hand.
I stood from her point of view, and saw a rack of different magazines. It drove me crazy, what was she looking at? Now I wish I didn’t see what she was looking at. It broke me more than anything. How hard Marshall and I tried to keep the kids away from these people. And what made it worse, was it was Hailie’s and Marshall’s photo on the magazines.
“Brawls between siblings” it said.
It was all wrong, the picture, the text, everything. The picture was taken the day I picked Hailie up form school. And it was outside of her school. How the hell did I miss that photographer?
“How could they have gotten that?” Hailie whispered.
“I don’t know…”
Hailie turned to me, “Now, daddy will find out about my fight…” her eyes teary.
That went over my head, “Come on, honey, its publicity that story can be misled by anyone.” Hailie tilted her head and went,
“Hmm” knowing I was right. Hailie went downstairs to the shop, wiping her eyes.
It was scary, Marshall goes to three stores every day before coming home from the studio, and he’ll hear it on the radio maybe or even on TV. My thoughts raced, how can I hide this from him? Then again, I am holding back Hailie from talking to Marshall. This could be the ice breaker they need. I quickly snatched the magazine before anyone could see, and shoved it in my pocket book.
“What does dad say about my project I’m doing for school?” asked Hailie. I glared over at Hailie I really wanted to say, ‘ask him yourself’ but I wasn’t willing to start an argument with her.
“Um…” the only thing I could think of to say was, ‘ask him yourself’ it was the right thing to say. Hailie waited for an answer as I scrambled those words to the back of my mind.
“I don’t think I’ve told him yet” I said. Hailie looked disappointed as if she really wanted Marshall to know.
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We brought home the gifts, hoping to see the boys putting up the tree. The tree sat in the garage, tied up
“Huh, Marshall must’ve got it today” I said to myself. The girls rushed into the house, Hailie following close behind, knowing she’ll see her father. I wish I could smack her right now, this isn’t right. Not giving Marshall a glimpse she rushed to the kitchen then to her bedroom. Marshall’s expression was heart breaking.
I gave Marshall a kiss on his temple and sympathically rubbed his back. He rested his head on my shoulder, what was I going to do? What was I going to say?
“She still loves you…it’ll be ok” I whispered. Pushing Hailie in the back of his mind, he started to help me with the packages.
When dinner was on the table; Hailie kept her head down, trying to cover up a little brown bruise on her face. Marshall ponder whether or not to ask Hailie what happened to her face or if it was make-up.
“What happened to your face?” Marshall asked sternly. You could see Hailie’s nervous expression even though she kept her head down.
“Did you fall?”
Hailie grew even more nervous.
I tried to keep my hand shaking as I placed the tray of food in the middle of the table; afraid Marshall might know that Hailie and I are hiding something.
“Oh, she fell off her skateboard that she tried riding…I told you honey that board is too short for you…you are not sixteen anymore.” My voice was jittery, anyone could see I was nervous.
Marshall raised his eye brows and took the weak and pathetic excuse. Hailie smiled at me, grateful I took a bullet for her. I on the other hand, wanted to slap her I hated to lie to Marshall; my husband and it was a perfect opportunity for Hailie and Marshall to talk. I glared at her, not giving her the same happy feeling as if we dodged a bullet together.
Marshall ate some food he sat most of the time and starred at his food as if he was in deep thought. It made me uneasy throughout dinner, my eyes could not stop wondering to Marshall. Times like this I would pay anything to see what he is thinking.
“When are you going to put up the tree, hun?” I asked softly.
Marshall snap out of the daze, “Hmm, what?”
“When are you going to put the tree up?”
“Oh…I don’t know…the weekend I guess” his tone was uncaring. There could only be two reasons why Marshall was acting so odd right now, I just hope it’s not the one I’m worried about.